Phonograph



Patented Dec. 26, 1922.

PHONOGRAPJH.

Application filed April 1, 1920.' Serial No. 370,521.

first to provide a simple means for maintaining the soundbox stylus inits correct position with respect to the record without abandoning theuse of the'fixed pivotal support for the soundbox which has proven so 2advantageous in practice as to have become almost universally applied:second, the pro-' vision of means which will permit the stylus to yieldslightly in directions other than those normally demanded by thevibrations of the soundb'ox diaphragm: and third, the provision ofmeansembodying both of the foregoing which will conveniently adapt myinvention for use in the reproduction of either lateral cut, verticalcut or slanting out records upon the same machine. An-

other obj-ect of the invention is the provision of a fulcrum supportwhich is insulated from the soundbox' shell by means of some vibrationabsorbing material such as rubher. It is the further intention of thisinvention to-provide means which will accomplish the foregoin objectswhich can be readily applied to t e various types of phonographs alreadyon the market with but little, ifany fitting or change. These, to-

gether with such other objects as are incident to my invention, orwhichmay appear hereinafter, I obtain by means of a construction which Ihave illustrated in preferred form in the accompanying drawings,wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view' of one embodiment of myinvention which can beused either with vertical or lateral cut records; Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the apparatus illustrated in. Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side viewof a soundbox' embodying my invention; Fig.

1 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

, Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a 'soundbox embodying a. modification ofmy invention; Fig 6 is an end view of the construction of in ull linesin the same figure.

Fig 5; Fig. 7 is across section through a soundbox illustrating themanner'in which the fulcrum support is insulated from the soundboxshell; Fig. 8 is a plan view of a soundbox and, its carrier arm,thesoundbox embodying my invention, illustrating the manner in which it canbe applied for playing, records of either the vertical, lateral, orslanting types Without changing: the position of the soundbox; Fig. 9 isa.65. side elevation of the construction illustrated in Fig. 8; and Fig.10 is a greatly enlarged section longitudinally of a record grooveillustrating the manner in which aplaying stylus wears; and Fig. 11 is across section on a greatly enlarged scale through a portion of a recorddisc illustrating the character of the undulations in what is termed aslanting cut groove.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the invention is illustrated in association with aconstruction which is readily adaptable for playing either lateral cutor vertical cut records.

In these figures, the swinging guide arm is represented by the tone arm14' and its pivotal. support by 15'. The soundbox 11' carried by the arm12' is connected to the guide or tone arm by means of the vertical pivot13'. At this vertical pivot 13 there is fixed to the carrier arm 12' thesupple mental arm 27 to the outer end of which is pivoted one end of theguide bar 7. The other end of the guide bar is connected to a fixedsupport by means of the pivot 8". By this simple construction the pointof the stylus 17 can be maintained at all positions of the guide arm 14'in its correct position with respect to the groove in the record 18 inwhich it is traveling. To this end the proportion of the various partsare geometrically worked out and the-various points of pivotal supportproperly located. When the soundbox is placed upon the out- 'er edge ofa record the parts will assume the positions indicated in dotted linesin .Fig. 1 .and when the record has been played the arts will assume thepositions indicated As [the guide arm 14 swings inwardly toward thecenter of the recordthe soundbox carrier arm 12 will be moved in theopposite d1- ing, located at the outer end of the tone or 11 guide arm14 in a manner well known in the art. The connections between the guidebar 7"and the vertical pivots 13' and 8' are made loose enough so as topermit the slight up and down movement 'of the soundbox which isrequired without danger of binding.

In talking .machines as hitherto made. there has been but one verticalpivot provided and that is the one at 15' around which the guide or tonearm 14 swings.

Consequently the stylus 44, as it moves inwardly over the surface of therecord, makes a continually changing angle with respect to the groove inwhich it is traveling, the

total amount of variation ranging anywhere from 10 to 20.

The advantages secured by uniform and correct alignment of the styluswith reference tothe groove are very great. In Fig. 10 I haveillustrated on a greatly enlarged scale, the point of a steel styluswhich'has been much worn by proper use. The bottom of the groove on therecord 18 is represented by the line 28, and its upper edge-by the line29. The dotted line represents that portion of the stylus which has beencompletely worn awa This wear has pro: duced a somewhate ongatedsled-like bottom 31. The sides of the needle have also been ground bythe sides of the roove, as indicated at 32. This needle hasTi evenlyworn through proper use upon a -mach1ne embodying my improvement and isespecially serious to the delicate quality and large diameter,

it will be seen that as long as the pointremains fine enough it could beused repeatedly without detrimental effect to the record groove. Withoutchanging the needle, after it has been used to play a record, thesoundbox can be replaced inthe groove at-the be inning of the record andthe needle'still t exactly, but if the machine does not provide theswinging movement of the soundbox carrier 12 a on the pivot 13 the wornedge of the needle from the end-of the record does not fit into thegroove at the beginning of the record,.but sets diagonally across it. Ifan attempt is made to use the stylus twice it has to be worn in againwhen placed at the beginning the phonograph which are illustrated in thefigures thus far considered and in greater detail -with' severalmodifications 'in igs: 3 to 9,. inclusive. Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate inheld in place against een thus This is well known in the art B I y givenphonograph users to play but one greater detail and on an enlarged scalea soundbox, which is especially designed for recording purposes. It willbe seen that the novel feature of construction is the provision of anelastic fulcrum for the vibration lever 34, consisting of a wire-33.'under tension and disposed in a plane substantially at right anglesto the plane of the diaphragm, the lever being connected to the center'of the diaphragm 35. The stylus 17 is firmly fixed to the vibrationlever 34 preferably by means of a mixture of beeswax and resin. Thevibration lever is cemented or otherwise firmly attachedto' the wire.

- The wire is supported by means of the yoke 36 attached to the shell ofthe soundbox 11. The ends of the wire are bent over "a pair of clips 37and attached thereto by means of small screws 38. The clips are the arms39 of the yoke by means of the screws 40 and 41 which screws also serveas a means for adjusting the tension on the wire 33 and also thepressure of the .vibrathe outer surfaees of tion lever upon thediaphragm at its center.

for it will be "observed, by means of the screws 40 and 41 it ispossible to bodily move the fulcrum wire and all parts attached to it toa slight degree in one direction or the other longitudinally of thewire.

The above described construction pro-- vides a remarkably efiicientinstrument which, in the particular form disclosed in Figs. 7 and 8, isparticularly useful as a recorder This wire takes the place of theordinary knife edge or other rigid fulcrum and is an improvementthereover. It can- 'not move appreciably in th'edirection of its lengthand; it cannot become worn loose or gummed up. It is very efiicient asaful crum for vibrations normal or at right angles to the diaphragm(those produced by sound waves acting upon the diaphragm), especiallyvery slight ones and at the same time it will readily yield to .slightforces' normal to itself or in a plane .across its length (ingeneral'forces which are longitudinal of the planeof the diaphragm)These forces or motions which I have termed normal to the wire, are-dueto wobbling of the turn-table or to variations or warpings of thesurface of the record.

record maybe secured and maintained even though the turn-table and motordriving it be of comparatively crude construction such as is found inordinary phonographs-not means of this slightly yielding contact Ibetween the stylusfand the record a -very, uniform and at thesame time,a very slightpressure-of the stylus point; against {the intendedprimarily for recording purposes.

By properly adjusting the tension wire, it IS possible to raise thenatural pitch ofthe system, as it might be termed,

in the" so as to render. it sensitive to high pitched notes but notsensitive to the raucous sounds WhlCll some soundboxes are prone toaccentuate by resonance.

It is, of course, perfectly obvious that the principal of the wirefulcrum can be embodied in a soundbox which is intended for reproducingpurposes only. Such an embodiment of my invention in a form whichcorresponds to the form shown in Figs. 3 and .4 is illustrated in thereproducer 11 shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The only difi'erence occurs in theprovision of a suitable holding means for the reproducing stylus whichwill permit of its being changed whenever necessary. A very convenientmanner in which to take care of this requirement is by the provision ofa suitable matrix 42 which .is illustrated in Figs. 1 and'2 and also inFigs. 5, 6, 8 and 9, which latter figures illustrate modifications ofthe .invention to be described later. This matrix embraces both the wireand the Vibration lever and it is constructed to provide the usual thumbscrew holding means 43 for the reproducing stylus 44.- The rest of thedevice can'be made exactly the same or very similar to what has alreadybeen described in connection with the recording instrument illustratedin Figs. 3 and 4. v

The yoke which supports the fulcrum wire is very rigid and, as the wireitself is incapable of appreciable stretchings under the influence ofthe small forces transmitted through the vibration lever, it is obviousthat the lever' vibrations will produce slight bendings of the fulcrumwire, the elasticity of which always tends to bring the lever back intoits neutral position. Appropriate resistance in the wire is secured bymaking it of suitable length, thickness and composition and then byregulating its tension.

These parts are so proportioned that the vibration caused by a faintsound, since it is of but slight amplitude, demands but a slight bendingof the wire, and, therefore,

sufi'ei's very little resistance from it, while vibration caused by aloud sound encounters substantial resistance. The. resistance may beincreased or diminished by increasing or diminishingihe tension on thewire.

A reproducer constructed to embody this invention will eliminate, to agreat extent, the harsh, metallic scratching sounds always present ingreater or less degree in the playing of arecord. It will also causeless wear on the record because of the fact that it can yield slightlyto compensate for any irregularities in the motion of the turn-table orin the surface of the record.

Instead of using but a single fulcrum wire it is obvious that I may usetwo or more. Such a construction is illustrated in F igs; 5 and 6wherein 'I show the use of two wires 33' and 33". The matrix, in thiscase,

plication of wires insofar as the reproduction of sound is concerned,and the saving of the record goes, is the same as it would be with onewire but the construction is more substantial and less likely to beinjured, especially when changing the playing stylus. It is notnecessary in all cases 'to provide a clip and adjusting screws at eachend of the fulcrum wire or wires and in'these figures I have illustrateda soundbox for general purposes of a preferred construction in whichthere is but one clip 37 at one end. At the other end the two lengths ofwire, which can be made continuous, loop over the arm'39 of the yoke 36as shown. A thumb screw 41', adjustable by hand, is provided forregulating the tension on the wires, the particular value of which willappear hereinafter.

In the playing of records there is always present certain secondary orresonant viundesirable tone qualities which should be eliminatedorsoftened to as great an extent as is possible. My constructionaccomplishes this result to a degree heretofore unobtainable. When thestylus 44 is vibrated by the undulations of the record groove it 'must,as above stated, produce slight bendings in the wire or wires intransmitting such vibrations to the diaphragm. The re sistance of thewires tends to hold the stylus and its lever in neutral position and thetighter and stiffer they are the greater vWill be the resistance theyoffer. By regulating the tension it is possible to quite markedlyregulate the quality of the reproduced sound. A wire under great tensionaccentuates' the vibrations. which produce the higher pitched soundswhile one under a somewhat lesser tension will permit the tones of lowerpitch to predominate.

In order to further avoid or nullify the effects of such secondaryvibrations, I pro- In other soundboxes there is no such cushion betweenthe fulcrum and the shell of the soundbox. Instead they areprovided witha rubber cushion between the soundbox ind its carrier arm, orbetweeirthe soundbox and the tone arm, which, in my. construction, can

be readily dispensed with: Any mechanical vibrations, which may becommunicated by the wire fulcrum to its support, are cush casing.

' provided.

shown in '7, it serves, in reproducers, in

addition to e fiunction of somewhat regulating the quality of tone, thatof enabling me to vary the loudness'with whieh'a record is playedwithout changing the stylus, or throttling the opening to theamplifierwhich are the two expedients hitherto employed,

and each possessed of certain objectionable features. To effect thisregulation of tension the more readily, I make one or more of theadjusting screws av thumb screw 41' as shown in Figs. band 6. By turningthis screw in'onedirection the wires 33 and 33 are tightened, andgreater resistance is offered" by themto the vibrations, andconsequently a portion of the energvof vibration is thereby communicatedto the yoke 36 and absorbed by the rubber pads 47 and 48 (Fig. 7-) .toany noticeable degree. -The tone emitted by the reproducer is softenedbut not impaired in uality.. The loud sounds, especially, are re uced,while-the soft'tones are not lost. By loosening the tension, thevibration is freer, and the volume of sound increases. 1 1 This featureis especially valuable where "fsemi-permanent needles are usedin playmg,for, it Wlll be seen that the fulcrum, support'is' inca sense a floatingone, capable of bodily-movement of translation. Its mass tends to resistvibrations and the pads 47 and 48 yieldingly hold theparts inplace. Theamplitudeot movement. depends upon the resistance offered to thevibration ofithe are'relatively loose,

vibration lever. Thus, 1f the fulcrum wires relatively less resistanceis offered to the vibrations of thelever; whereas if'the wires arerelatively tight, the total resistance to be overcome is greater and theresistance of. the fulcrum support is overcome and-the latter. movesbodily under the vibrations of the "lever, the net result being thata-portio'n of the st lus vibration is absorbed or lostin the shi ing ofthe fiuless than that of the stylus,- correspond1ngly% By regulation ofthe tension of the wires, the amplitudeof vibration of the diaphragmgent-to the the at will, and the desired production obtained, and thiswithout changing the needle.

7 My wire fulcrum tage of limiting the has the further advanmotion ofthe vibration lever with relation to the plane of-the diaphragm so thatthe diaphragm need not be used at all to support'the'lever, but may bemerely cemented to it, with a suitable wax and without the use of ascrewor clamp as is frequently the case. The sole function of the connectionin my construction is to transmit vibrations from lever to diaphragm,the lever beingecompletely supported. independently. Thus the connectionto the diaphragm may be madelighter and more delicate, and theinstrument is correspondingly more sensitive to feeble vibrations or tothose of high pitch. In Figs. 5, 6 and 7-1 have illustrated-anembodiment of my invention suitable for playing records of the so calledflateral type in which the undulations in the groove are from side toside horizontally of the record. This is well known in the art and neednotbe described in detail. The playing stylus, in reproducing the soundwaves of a record of this character, oscillates from side to side and itis, therefore, essential that the diaphragm of the sound-box be set in aplane which is substantially tangential to the groove in the record.

In contradistinction to this type of record there is a record which islrnown'inthe art as the vertical cut, or hill'and dale record, in whichthe undulations which-produce the sound, arein an up and down directionverticallyof the record. The diaphragm of thesoundbox when playing a,record of this character must be located in a plane which is volume oftone re-,

substantially transverse to aplane which is" tangent to the record move;In Figs. 1 and 2 I have illustrate a construction embodyingmy inventionin which. the soundbox can be so turned as to position its diaphragm ina plane transverse to one which istanoove. This construction has beendesigne so that it can play either lateral or vertical cut records, theposition of the soundboxwhen playing lateral cut records being indicatedin dotted lines and osition when playing vertical cut recor s in fulllines. a v I In order to adapt my improved soundbox for this double oruniversal use, I- provide a used for p aying lateral cut records isremoved when playmg vertical-cut. I haveso. des' ed-the soundbox carrierarm 12' and theswivel joint 49 thatvthe stylus, whether i it be playinga lateral'or a vertical cut recat relative to that of the stylus may bealtered 0rd, comes at substantially the same point 1.20 swivel oint 49m-the soundbox carrier arm which there is but one needle holder, the

swivel motion being of such a character as to bring the same needlepoint to the same position upon the record while varying the position ofthe diaphra m. When playing vertical cut records suc swivels bring thediaphragm into an inclined position. It isobvious that if, instead ofmaintaining the soundbox substantially vertical with respect to the discandproviding the point 43', as

shown in Fig. 2, I use the needle 44 and in-' cline the soundbox tobring the needle to the proper point, I must make the fulcrum wire andits supports short enough to avoid touching the record surface. When Ido this, my soundbox may' be used upon other universal tone arms, andfor this purpose the use of adjusting screws at one end of the fulcrumwire only, as in Fig.6, is especially advantageous since it economizesspace. My purpose, however, is not merely to produce a soundbox whichmay be used on other machines but comprehends making marked improvementin the phonograph as a whole; and it will be seen that theseimprovements all cooperate toward that end. Not only is the position ofthe parts shown in Fig. 2 most favorable for the perfect reproduction ofsound, but there is the further advantage of having a permanent playingpoint for the finer hill and dale records such as the Edison. Thechanging of points used for such records is highly detrimental to therecord.

groove.

When-playing vertical cut records the fulcrum wire yields slightly toaccommodate the stylus to lateral unevenness of motion due to inaccuracyin the rotation of the disc or other cause and when playing lateral cutrecords the wire fulcrum will yield slightly to accommodate the stylusto vertical unevenness of motion.

have described myimproved soundbox with relation to the position of thediaphragm and stylus for playing either lateral or vertical cut records.There isfhowever, an intermediate type of record known as the slant orinclined cut. This type of record has grooves out in accordance with thediagrammatical illustration contained in Fig. 11 in'which the uppersurface of the record is indicated by the character 50'a-nd theunderface by the character 51.. The normal depth of the sound groove isindicated by the full line 52 and the undulations produced by the soundvibrations by the dotted lines 53 and 54.- These undulations areproduced by means of a stylus acting in, the direction in:

dicated by the arrow 55. Such a record will play upon a machine in whichthe soundbox is set for pla ing either lateral or vertical cut records.y yielding fulcrum construction is particularly valuable when playing arecord of this type upon an ordinary phonograph designed to play eitherlateral or vertical cut records. Under such circumstances there is acomponent in the undulations of the record groove which may betransmitted to the diaphragm to produce vibrations useful in soundreproduction and also a component which cannot be so utilized but whichcan, mstead, cause undue record wear or transmit mechanical vibrationsthrough the fulcrumto the soundbox casing which are exceedinglyundesirable and very marring in their influence upon the reproducedsound. Under these. circumstances, as above pointed out, my improvedsoundbox is exceptionally valuable, inasmuch as the yielding fulcrum andthe sound vibration absorbing material between the fulcrumsupport andthe soundbox casing tend to strain out or eliminate, to a great extent,the undesirable vibrations.

I can so design my machine and position the soundbox on its carrier armas to make it possible to play any one of the three types of recordswhich have been considered on the.

same machine without changing the position of the soundbox. I haveillustrated the poproject in the same direction in which it wouldproject were the soundbox to be set at the proper angle for eithervertical or lateral cut records. My improved soundbox construction makesthe showing of Figs. 8 and 9 a successful possibility, for without theyielding fulcrum which I provide such a position of the soundbox wouldcause excessive wear on the ordinary vertical or lateral cut records.

It should be noted that in the present application I make no specificclaim to the guiding mechanism herein disclosed inasmuch as this subjectmatter has been claimed in a divisionalapplication filed August 12,1921," bearing Serial No. 491,656.

What I claim is:

1. In a phonograph sound box, the combination with a diaphragm and itsvibration lever, of a fulcrum for the lever including a plurality ofwires substantially parallel with one another and with the axis of thediaphragm.

2. In a phonograph sound box, the combination with a diaphragm and itsvibrationlever, of a fulcrum for the lever including a plurality ofwiresv arranged in a plane which is substantially at right angles bothto the plane of the vibrations of the lever and to the plane of thediaphragm.

- 3. In a phonograph sound box, the combination with a diaphragm and itsvibration lever, of a fulcrum for the lever including a plurality ofwires arranged in a plane substantially at right angles both to theplane of the vibrations of the lever and to the plane of the diaphragmand an attaching have a the diaphragm,

and means wires.

matrix for the lever having extended engagement with the wires.

4. In .a phonograph sound box, the combination with a diaphragm and itsvibra tion lever, of a fulcrum for the lever ineluding two wiressubstantially equidistant from the parallel with the axis of thediaphragm, a stylus holder, and an attaching matrix for connecting thestylus holder to the wires.

5. In a phonograph sound box, the com bination with a diaphragm and itsvibration lever, of a fulcrum for the lever including two wiressubstantially equidistant from and parallel with the axis of thediaphragm for regulating the tension of the a fulcrum for the levercushioned so as to permit of yielding bodily movement of translation andmeanswhereby the amphtude of movement of translation may be varied.

8. The combination with a phonograph sound box device, having-twovibrating members, .the diaphragm and the stylus, of a vibrating meansfor connecting the stylus to a support for said connecting means, acushion between the support and the soundboxj adapted to permit bodilymovement 'of translation on the part. of said support, and adjustablemeans for ofi'ering resistance to vibration' of the connecting theamplitude of vibrarelative to the stylus.- sound box, the combimeans soas to'vary 9.- 'In a phonograph I nation ot a stylus element actuating adiafbers each capa 7 phragm element; connecting means between saidstylus and diaphragm, a cushioned support for said connectin means, andadjustable means for restraining the-action of the stylus upon thediaphragm through the medium of the cushioned support.

10. In a sound box, a casing, a diaphragmv secured therein, a stylus, alever connecting the stylus with ,the diaphragm, a spring associatedwith the. lever so as'to be bent by oscillations of the lever, means forregulating the tension of the spring, a fillcrum supporting memberforthe lever, and a cushion between the fulcrum supporting member and thecasing which ermits limited vibratory motion between .t e supportingmember and the casing.

11. In a phonograph sound box, the combination with a diaphragm and itsvibration lever, of a fulcrum for the le'verincluding a. plurality ofsubstantially parallel wires arranged ma plane which extends in adirection substantially at right angles to the plane of the diaphragm,said wires extending transversely of the diaphragm.

. 12. In a phonograph sound box the combination with the diaphragm andthe stylus of means for transmitting vibrations from thelatte'r to theformer including a vibration lever, a stylus holder, atleast twoyielding members both subject to deflection by the sound vibrations, andmeans for regulating the relative yield of the two members.

13. In 'a phonograph sound box the combination with the diaphragm andthe stylus of means for transmitting vibrations from the latter-to theformer'including a vibration lever, a st lus holder, at least two memleof yielding movement under vibratory forces, and means sustained onlyupon said transmitting mechanism for regulating the yielding of saidmembers.

MIA vibratlon transmitting mechanism for a phonograph sound boxcomprising in combination with the stylus, the diaphragm, the stylusholder, least two yielding members cooperating with the foregoing parts,the yield of one being regulated by the yield of the other, and meansfor adjusting their .combined resistance to yield in order to vary thevolume of the reproduced sound.

"In testimony whereof, I signed my name.

WILLIAM 'VENABLE.

and the vibration lever, atv

have hereunto

